Hovis invests £6m to revamp Granary and Seed Sensations recipes

UK baking giant Hovis has invested £6m to re-vamp its Seed Sensations and Granary products following improvements made across its Soft White loaves.

Rolling out with immediate effect, Hovis said the re-vamped loaves are part of its on-going strategy to deliver superior-tasting products.

Hovis’ improved Seed Sensations and Granary products are a softer bake and improved taste that will be available throughout grocery, convenience and wholesale with a recommended selling price of £1.50 and £1.35 respectively.

The recent re-formulation of Hovis’ Soft White (800g) saw the variants experience a 29% uplift in sales and become the fastest selling range in the bread market, according to the manufacturer.

The activity comes as Hovis is out-performing the overall wrapped bread market in terms of value sales.

Hovis sales declined 1.9% year on year to £271m, compared to a 4.2% drop in total wrapped bread sales. In volume terms, however, Hovis has declined 6.8% versus a 4.2% drop in the market, according to data from IRI for the 52 weeks ending 31 January 2016.

Ed Milner, market strategy and planning director, said: “The improvement of recipes within its Granary and Seed Sensations loaves will target shoppers who are willing to pay more for products that provide good quality and taste.”

The quality improvements will be supported by in-store activity to drive additional awareness for the bread aisles.